The third book of DWâ€™s biography details his life between 1919 and 1977. He allocated 213 pages to the period 1919 â€“ 1944 but only 35 pages to the period 1944 â€“ 1977. As with many of his novels he brings an exceptional story line to a speedy conclusion. This is something of a shame a he offers no detail of the circumstances leading up to the writing and subsequent publication of â€˜Codeword Golden Fleeceâ€™ or for that matter the vast majority of his books written thereafter. DW and Joan moved to a new house in Lymington, Hampshire in June 1945. It was named â€˜Grove Placeâ€™. â€˜The Man who missed the Warâ€™ was published in November 1945 and â€˜Codeword Golden Fleeceâ€™ was published in May 1946, so I think it safe to assume that â€˜CGFâ€™ was the first book to be written at â€˜Grove Placeâ€™. It enabled DW to produce an excellent storyline for the Duke de Richleau and Co. It had been five years earlier that we last read of the Duke & friends who were fighting the satanic â€˜Dr Saturdayâ€™ and various Zombies in the titanic struggle that was â€˜Strange Conflictâ€™. â€˜Strange Conflictâ€™ has always been one of my favourites and so when I came to read â€˜CGFâ€™ for the first time I was not expecting DW to produce anything approaching the same quality and excitement. I was wrong. The storyline was brilliantly put together and the twists and turns that we have come to love are all there.
It is good to see that DW has come through the war, having written endless papers for the â€˜Joint Planning staffâ€™ still producing work at his highest level.

It was Friday 28th July 1939. The story starts with;
A small dinner party was being given by the Duke for his dearest friends, Richard Eaton, Marie Lou, Rex van Ryn, Simon Aron and Lucretia Jose (The Golden Spaniard). It is a reunion and also a farewell as the various parties are all off to spend some time away at various holiday/sporting activities throughout Europe. The Duke and Lucretia intend to spend some time in Eastern Poland with an old friend â€˜The Baron Lubieszow & his wife Clotilde near Pinsk.
When the Duke and Lucretia arrive at the house they note that other visitors are also staying there. Apart from members of the family and friends there is General Mack, - One of Polandâ€™s most famous statesman and Colonel Moninszko. The Duke knew that the â€˜Colonelâ€™ was of much higher rank than that as he had seen him before. He was in fact convinced that he was one of the highest officers in the Polish Army.
Jan Lubieszow, a pilot in the Polish army is also there. He is the nephew of the Baron. He has â€˜grey eyesâ€™.
The following morning two further guests are flown in. The new arrivals are Count von Geisenheim, a Prussian officer who was high in the councils of the German General Staff and a Major Bauer who the Duke is certain is a Nazi officer.
It soon becomes apparent that the Germans are there to â€œpersuadeâ€ General Mack into a peaceful surrender to the German forces. They believe Poland to be no serious threat to them and with Poland out of the way they would be free to launch their armies and air fleets against Western Europe.
Whilst the talks are proceeding, Lucretia and Jan are becoming very friendly. In fact the friendship is going so well that Jan takes Lucretia to Krakow for a couple of days.

The Duke is getting worried with the way things are going with the nearby political conferences and so contacts Richard and Marie Lou in Austria to request that they join him in Poland at Lubieszow. They arrive within 24 hours.
The Duke is now keen to leave as soon as possible but Jan and Lucretia are late returning from Krakow. Jan eventually by Plane and explains that Lucretia is safe and staying at his house in Warsaw. So, everything is now fine for them to leave for Warsaw to meet up with Luretia..... Oh no it isnâ€™t!!
As talks between the German and Polish officials were reaching completion, a house arrest was imposed on everybody within the house until the details were finalised.
An argument about the situation started initially between Jan and the Baron, then Jan and General Mack and then Jan and Major Bauer. It then turned from bad to worse and a gun battle ensued which was eventually brought under control by the Dukes party together with the very timely arrival of Rex and Simon.
The Duke tells Jan to make a run for it and arranges for Richard and Simon to take a car and drive to Warsaw and bring Lucretia back to a nearby foresters hut just two miles from Lubieszow whilst the Duke, Rex, Marie Lou plus General Mack - the valuable hostage who had just sold out to the Germans, take another car to the hut and wait.
After a three day wait with little food, little comfort and still no sign of Richard, Simon and Lucretia they decide that the best thing for them is to head for Warsaw.
They arrive in Warsaw amid falling bombs, craters left by bombs and the crack of anti-aircraft guns. They head for Janâ€™s house where they are immediately reunited with Lucretia. However nobody seems to know where Richard and Simon are.
Jan and Simon soon arrive but with bad news; Simon informs them that Richard has been badly injured in a car crash; â€œHis head went through the windscreen and his hip was smashed by the steering wheelâ€. It turned out that he had a compound fracture. Mary Lou set out on nursing him back to recovery.
As Richard is bedridden, the remaining group (the Duke, Rex, Simon, Mary Lou, Jan & Lucretia) â€˜put their heads togetherâ€™ and came up with a plan to significantly aid the war effort. They decided to try and buy out the business that provides barges to transport oil along the Danube to Germany. If the supply can be stopped Germany will have severe problems with operating every aspect of their industry, armaments and transport.
The current company is independently controlled by a rich Rumanian named Teleuescu based in Bucharest.
The name given to this audacious plan is, from now on, referred to by a codeword.....Golden Fleece.
The Duke, Rex and Simon work out a plan to meet with him.

Bad news followed. They heard that Janâ€™s plane had been attacked by German planes and he was seen being shot down in flames. Lucretiaâ€™s reunion with Jan had been short lived.

Upon hearing this news, the Duke took to his room to dine alone as he had been very fond of Jan. He drank â€œsome very old Madeira before dinner, a bottle of Grand Eschauaux 1923 with it, and nearly half a litre of Green and Yellow Chartreuse mixed in equal proportions afterwards. He was not drinking in any endeavour to cheer himself up, as he knew that was hopeless; but he also knew from long experience that the best way of ensuing sound sleep at a time of great distress was to get â€˜slightly tightâ€™..â€ SLIGHTLY !!!!! This would have killed me!!

Rex and Simon set off by train from Praga station heading for Bucharest in order to get the â€˜Golden Fleeceâ€™ business proposal under way with Teleuescu.

We then soon discover that Jan had escaped from his burning plane with some â€œpainful burns on his legs and a wrenched left ankleâ€
The next reunion with Lucretia was as equally emotional as the first.

The next section of the story is in my opinion one of the best parts in the book. It starts when the Duke is walking through the rubble strewn streets when a military car drives past and General Mack catches sight of his previous abductor. He yells out of the car, â€œSpy! Spy!
Rex and Simon set off by train from Praga station to Bucharest to organise the â€˜Golden Fleeceâ€™ business proposition with Teleuescu.

Donâ€™t let that man get away! Seize him! Seize him!â€ A dramatic chase takes place initially by a passerby and then by a frenzied mob which culminates in the Duke scrambling through the debris of a bombed church in order to escape being ripped to shreds. Gripping stuff indeed.

The Duke, Rex and Simon pay a business call to Mr Teleuescu. The business contract and finances are agreed. The only delay to the deal is that the Rumanian Prime Minister (Armand Calinesco) must countersign the document. The reason being that there are potentially serious repercussions with German sympathisers within Rumania and this could force the government into nationalising the barges or even commandeering them. Having said this Mr Teleuesco thinks that the PM will sign but they must wait a little longer. He also told them that the Germans were interested in purchasing the business as well but he felt as far as he was concerned, the sale has now taken place.

Despite their best efforts Simon and Rex keep missing Simon but they are keen to regain the â€˜Optionâ€™ and eventually locate the car in Constanta. The â€˜Optionâ€™ is not there.
When they return to their hotel, Simon, is there, with the â€˜Optionâ€™. He had retrieved a day earlier.
The next day they boarded a cargo steamer for Istanbul. Ten hours later the boat collides with a small fishing boat. The propeller the boat was fouled and there was thick fog. There was also three days to go until the â€˜Optionâ€™ expires. They transfer into a passing small fishing smack. They eventually arrive in Istanbul and then immigration hold them up. After much arguing they arrive at the British Embassy where one of the secretaries inform them that they are too late to get the information to Britain as it would have to be ciphered, checked by the treasury, consultation with the war office and the PM. This would take a minimum of 24 hours. It canâ€™t be done.

As the dejected three get to the Pera Palace hotel http://www.perapalas.com/ where they meet up with Marie Lou and Lucretia. They decide to meet for dinner before telling their stories.

Letâ€™s just say that, as far as the Duke and Jan were concerned to partially quote Mark Twainâ€“ â€œ Rumours of their death Had Been Greatly Exaggeratedâ€

Janâ€™s third reunion with Lucretia was (probably) as equally as emotional as the first and second!!!!!!!!!!.

Bits and Pieces

Page 42 - Richard "was neither suspicious or inquisitive by nature; in fact, so blind was he to everything which did not personally concern him that Mary Lou, used sometimes to relate that for fun she had once walked him three times round the same London square before he woke up to the fact that they had twice passed the house to which she had asked him to accompany her.
I liked this it - It brings the 'human touch' to one of the seemingly 'Infallible four'.

Page 206 â€“ As the Duke gets into bed after a successful day of business â€˜he read for a little, and for the twentieth time, a few passages of that wonderful book of Joan Grantâ€™s, â€˜Winged Pharaohâ€™, a copy of which always travelled with him. (Note: I must read this book)
Page 212 â€“ The Duke has Cantaloupe melon for breakfast. DW frequently mentions this favourite of his. One idea for the convention perhaps??
Page 222 â€“ The Athenee Pace becomes the Anthee I know there was no spell check but (whatever happened to proof readers?)

The dedication in this book is to Sir Reginald Hoare, K.C.M.G.
â€˜With my most grateful memories of those days when, as our dear â€˜Ambassadorâ€™ in a nameless stateâ€™, he lightened many difficult hours for myself and my colleagues by his imperturbable good humour and most enchanting witâ€™.

Sir Reginald Hoare joined the Joint Intelligence Committee with Dennis Wheatley on the recommendation of the Chairman of the JIC. He had been HM Minister in Rumania until Hitler absorbed that country into the Axis. He was an elderly grey-haired man with a pronounced stoop (a la Simon Aron). He contributed absolutely nothing to our activities and told me once that he had taken the job only because, like Kiplingâ€™s elephant child, he suffered from â€˜a satiable curiosityâ€™, and could not bear to be kept out of the secrets of the high direction of the war.

I wonder if Sir Reginald Kent in this book was based on Sir Reginald Hoare?

Stevie P wrote: The third book of DWâ€™s biography details his life between 1919 and 1977. He allocated 213 pages to the period 1919 â€“ 1944 but only 35 pages to the period 1944 â€“ 1977. As with many of his novels he brings an exceptional story line to a speedy conclusion. This is something of a shame as he offers no detail of the circumstances leading up to the writing and subsequent publication of â€˜Codeword Golden Fleeceâ€™ or for that matter the vast majority of his books written thereafter.

I have always wondered how much of the autobiography was never written, or discarded by the editors who had to get three volumes into two after DW's death. The dedication in volumes one and two indicates that he planned five books in all. Even with all the wartime material siphoned off into The Deception Planners, surely 35 years of his career must have merited more than a handful of pages...

I think the answer is that a lot of the autobiography just wasn't written.

I have it on good authority (from Anthony Lejeune) that there was no need to discard anything; the problem was more in the nature of finding enough material to fill one volume.

Like Stevie P, I too am disappointed that the 'writing years' weren't covered in greater detail; they may not have been as exciting or as important as the war years, but I would have been fascinated to read more about all the different personalities DW must have met as a result of his international literary fame.

I would imagine that the fact that the latter part of Drink And Ink brings the story (somewhat sketchily) up to 1977 indicates that DW realised he would be unable to complete the two intended volumes.

We can only hope that Phil Baker's forthcoming biography will fill in all of the gaps.

Steve Whatley wrote:I think the answer is that a lot of the autobiography just wasn't written. I have it on good authority (from Anthony Lejeune) that there was no need to discard anything; the problem was more in the nature of finding enough material to fill one volume. We can only hope that Phil Baker's forthcoming biography will fill in all of the gaps.

It's often a sad fact with older authors that their plans outrun their abilities, or the realities of their lives. (Georgette Heyer's plan to write a serious historical trilogy barely came to one book...) Amazon says the Baker book will be 600 pages--although it also says it will be out September 1--and I have it on order from BookDepository. I do hope it will be good...

To get back on topic, I think The Golden Spaniard and Codeword - Golden Fleece are two of DW's best books.

There's another thing that struck me on re-reading this work a year or so ago. I know at least one poster here (Steve Whatley) is a Dornford Yates fan, and I'd be surprised if he was the only one. To me, this is the most Yates-like of all DW's novels - the humour is more pronounced than in previous works, and the writing style even resembles Yates a little. And there is the hilarious scene where Simon - like Berry - "puts off his manhood". Is there any evidence that DW was reading DY about this time?

and btw Stevie P - I heartily endorse DW's recommendation of "Winged Pharoah" - I think it was actually published a a volume in DW's "Library of the Occult".

Another excellent review, thank you ... and like almost everyone else who has commented on your review, I have to say it's one of my favourite DW books - in the top six, so to say.

Here are a few comments from me to add to everyone else's ...

1. I love the historical note that appears in some editions that advises that the plot is to some extent based on fact ... that a french nobleman (I would love to know who) actually succeeded in acquiring a controlling interest in the Danube Oil Barges and stifling the Axis of its oil. When it comes to Roger Brook (and I look forward to your review of him too !), I always think in this connection of the 'conspiracy theories' that suggest that DW wove coded World War II secrets into the Roger Brook novels. Perhaps in this book he also came close to the mark.

2. Like you, I considered Chapter X 'Man Hunt' very superior stuff, and I wondered if one section was autobiographical. DW talks very convincingly of the Duke's burning chest and says "Shortage of breath was the one and only thing calculated to make de Richleau really lose his temper. It affected him even when he had to walk upstairs..."
I wondered if DW possibly suffered from a similar ailment in later life ... possibly as a result of being gassed in World War I.

3. Yes, you must read Joan Grant. Alongside DW, she is my favourite author, and she was a huge influence on his religious beliefs. I daresay Phil Baker will say more of her in his biography, but they were - at least for a while - very close. For what it's worth, a later reincarnation 'novel' of hers, "Eyes of Horus", is in my opinion her best. NB DW dedicated "Strange Conflict" to her and her second husband.

4. As you know, much as I loved the book, I found one bit a trifle unconvincing - the copy of the Option. I wondered how that would stand up against a country that would be determined to say it was a forgery. But it's a magnificent novel and I shouldn't quibble. Sorry, Dennis !

5. When I was a teenager my parents stayed in the Pera Palace, and I with them. It was rather grand, but dusty and dishevelled. I gather it's being completely refashioned now. Hope it doesn't lose all its old magic...

Again, brilliant review. Can't wait to see what you make of the next in series ....

All best to all ... looking foward to seeing you all (or as many as can come) at the Convention, of which more anon ... I'm just waiting for the final paperwork from the hotel, and then I can ask you for all for some money ...

Just picking up on Alan's thread regarding Dornford Yates; we do know that DW was a fan of Dornford - he listed Yates (in "Drink And Ink", I think) as one of the authors whose works he enjoyed reading. From memory, I believe the Blackwell's auction catalogue of DW's library contained one or two Yates titles.

It's some years since I've read "Codeword - Golden Fleece", but I do remember it as being one of the more thrilling of DW's many thrillers, and yes, I do have a vague memory of some rare DW humour in there. That's another title to add to my list to be re-read.

I'm quite intrigued by the comment that DW's 'writing style even resembles Yates a little' - this may mean that Golden Fleece goes straight to the top of my reading list. As Yates was still popular at the time Golden Fleece was written, I would think DW probably was still reading his books.

For Alan and any other Dornford Yates fans out there; have you looked at the Yahoo Group for Dornford Yates? I haven't the address to hand, but if you just search against DY you'll soon find it, and you will see that there are still a few die-hard fans around who enjoy discussing DY's books, and you will also find some interesting photographs and articles attached to the site. [font=Courier New] [/font]

I probably should clarify my attitude about Yates here - I'm a *Berry* fan rather than a Yates fan. Some of Yates' earlier books - when he was writing in his lighter style - leave me cold. It wasn't until I read "Berry & Co" that I came to regard the man in a new light. Mr Mercer does high adventure a LOT better than he does light comedy. However, when he does high adventure AND drafts some B-B-B-B-Berry style comedy in, it takes the whole thing to a much higher plane altogether.

Incidentally, his life was pretty interesting too - stranded in the Pyranees region during wartime, if I remember, which explains why so many of Jonah's escapades are set in that part of the world. And didn't he once take a stick to a man who was making eyes at his wife?

Anyway, Steve will hate me for this but I have to say it - if Yates relied on his early stories and the Jonah books for his reputation he'd be unknown today - but the muse did him a real favour with Berry Pleydell!